Trump campaign disavows lawyer Sidney Powell: Transition updates

The campaign now says she's not a member of the president's legal team.

ByLibby Cathey, Lauren King, Adia Robinson, Jack Arnholz, and Tia Humphries
Video byJessie DiMartino
Last Updated: November 23, 2020, 1:31 PM EST

President-elect Joe Biden is moving forward with transition plans, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump, who still refuses to concede the election two weeks after Biden was projected as the winner and is taking extraordinary moves to challenge the results.

Running out of legal alternatives to override the election loss, Trump invited Michigan's top Republican state lawmakers to visit the White House on Friday, as he and allies pursue a pressure campaign to overturn results in a state Biden won by more than 150,000 votes.

Despite Trump's roadblocks and his administration refusing to recognize Biden as the president-elect, Biden is forging ahead as he prepares to announce key Cabinet positions.

Though Trump has alleged widespread voter fraud, he and his campaign haven't been able to provide the evidence to substantiate their claims and the majority of their lawsuits have already resulted in unfavorable outcomes.

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Here is how the transition unfolded this past week. All times Eastern.
Nov 16, 2020, 2:49 PM EST

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan: 'The time has come' for Trump to concede

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, an outspoken critic of the president's who previously revealed he voted for Ronald Reagan in this year's election, is urging Trump to admit defeat and move forward with a peaceful transition for his successor.

"Like it or not, I mean, the president didn't win and so now, you know, we have Joe Biden as president for four years," he said at a forum hosted by the Ronald Reagan Institute. "Tomorrow will be two weeks. ... The time has come," he added in response to when Trump should concede.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan takes questions from journalists during a news conference, Nov. 12, 2020 in Annapolis, Md.
Brian Witte/AP

The self-described "Reagan Republican" also underscored the urgency of a smooth transition between the two administrations particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he compared to a war.

"We're in the middle of a war, and we don't know who the generals are going to be. We don't know what the game plan is," he said. "We can't wait till the end of January."

Amid the president's claims of fraud and a stolen election, Hogan dismissed those allegations for lack of evidence and asserted that even if there were any issues, like any other election, it will not make up Trump's deficit against Biden.

"We're not going to make up for five million votes in all of those states. It was a pretty overwhelming victory," Hogan continued. "We ought to find out if there's anything wrong but so far we haven't heard anything." 

-ABC News' Kendall Karson

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